Disney To Build a New Park in Abu Dhabi

Disney has announced that it’s building a full-blown Disney theme park in Abu Dhabi, a land where freedom of expression is a laughable concept. Will they demand that Donald Duck wear pants? That Elsa conceal her ankles?

If you’re wondering why Abu Dhabi, of all places, it’s because Disney isn’t going to have to cough up a single red cent to build the park. Thanks to a wild deal with the UAE’s Miral Group, the UAE will be paying for the bill for the park’s construction.

There are other reasons Abu Dhabi was picked. None of them are nearly as compelling or convincing as having a country cover 100 percent of construction costs. But they did help make the choice a little easier.

Abu Dhabi is a growing tourist hotspot with 24 million annual visitors, a big number it hopes to make bigger by attracting upwards of 39 million by 2030. And then there is, of course, the matter of IP.

Abu Dhabi presents an untapped market of preposterously wealthy people living large off of oil money. It’s positioning itself as a playground for the rich. Why not build a Disney park so the kids can have some fun, too?

On the practical side of things, this is going to have to overcome a few hurdles, like Abu Dhabi’s punishing heat. Yes, Walt Disney built Disneyland in an area with desert-like conditions. I

phrase it that way because, remember, LA is not actually a desert. Abu Dhabi, however, is very much a desert. It’s nestled within the Rub’ al Khali desert, which encompasses most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. Those Mickey-shaped ice creams will melt in record time.

On the moral and ethical side of things, the UAE’s human rights record complicates matters. It is a conservative, autocratic nation, after all. Censorship, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, migrant labor practices—it’s got everything a conservative dictator loves.

For as much as American conservatives love to accuse Disney of suffering from the Woke Mind Virus, they refuse to understand that they’re talking about Disney, a multibillion-dollar multinational capitalist juggernaut that would never refuse an opportunity to expand the brand, regardless of some nation’s pesky little human rights record.

Disney is morally malleable. They are whatever will make them the most money at that moment.

There are probably several Disney Adults out there, but their Magicbands in hand and Mickey Mouse ears atop their heads, eagerly anticipating the grand opening of Disney Abu Dhabi. I just hope they’re smart enough to know why there likely won’t be any Pride Parties and Gay Days that are such a hit here in the US.